No meeting took place between Fadnavis and Aaditya: Raut; 'What's problem if they are in one room'
Mumbai, July 20 (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday rejected reports about a meeting between Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray in a hotel.
Raut was responding to media queries about Fadnavis and Aaditya present at the hotel in BKC at the same time on Saturday evening.
This comes days after Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Aaditya met Fadnavis at Vidhan Bhavan, where Uddhav handed over a book opposing the imposition of Hindi.
"What problem do you (the media) have if they are in one room? One is CM and the other is a leader from the opposition. But nothing of the sort (meeting) happened," Raut said.
Fadnavis' tongue-in-cheek remark directed at Uddhav on the "scope" for him in the ruling side set off speculation last week.
"Uddhav ji, there is no scope (for a change in government) till 2029. We do not have the scope to come to the other (opposition's) side. You have the scope to come here, and it can be thought about. We can think about it differently," the chief minister had said during a farewell function in the legislative council for the leader of the opposition, Ambadas Danve.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Mamata visits Bhabanipur EVM strong room, warns against counting irregularities
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee early Friday warned against any attempt to tamper with the counting process, hours after she visited an EVM strong room in Bhabanipur, alleging possible malpractice.
Banerjee, who emerged around 12:07 am after spending nearly four hours at the counting centre for her Bhabanipur constituency housed in Sakhawat Memorial School in south Kolkata, said only one person would be allowed inside the designated counting area.
"Either the candidate or one agent can stay upstairs. I have also suggested installation of a CCTV camera for the media," she told reporters.
Stressing the need for transparency, she said, "It is essential to maintain transparency. People’s votes must be protected. I rushed here after receiving complaints. The central forces initially did not allow me to enter."
Sounding a stern note ahead of the May 4 counting, she added, "If there is any plan to tamper with the counting process, it will not be tolerated."
On Thursday evening, Banerjee had reached the Bhabanipur Assembly segment counting centre, which houses the strong room for EVMs used in the April 29 polling, citing suspicion of tampering with the machines.
She entered the premises along with her election agent and remained inside for hours, even as Kolkata Mayor and TMC candidate from the Kolkata Port segment Firhad Hakim reached the spot but could not meet her.
"I reached here upon learning that the chief minister has arrived. But I couldn’t meet her since she was already inside the premises, exercising her right as a candidate to visit strong rooms. I wasn’t allowed there. I will not be able to confirm what exactly is transpiring inside," Hakim said.
The development coincided with protests by TMC candidates Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja outside the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra in north Kolkata, where they staged a sit-in alleging irregularities and possible tampering of EVMs stored in strong rooms, leading to face-offs between TMC and BJP supporters.
Earlier in a video message, Banerjee had urged party leaders, workers and polling agents to maintain a 24-hour vigil on EVM strong rooms, alleging that the BJP could attempt to tamper with the machines before counting begins.
Her remarks come amid heightened political tension in the state following a fiercely contested Assembly election, with parties closely monitoring arrangements and raising concerns over transparency.
